Menu

See Also

Taylor Swift - Swift wrote in the letter, "Hopefully, young artists or kids with musical dreams will read this and learn about how to better protect themselves in a negotiation. You deserve to own the art you make."

Halsey - The singer backed Swift up in a tweet, adding that the alleged injustice shows how far the industry still has to go, and criticized "How as an entertainer you are respected but as a writer you're walked all over."

Taylor Swift - Swift had previously made headlines when she wrote a letter to Apple Music in 2014. She said it was "shocking" and "disappointing" to not pay royalties during their three-month trial, which was eventually changed.

Michael Jackson - MJ had a big battle with Sony in the late '90s and early 2000s. "The recording companies really, really do conspire against the artists [...] they steal, they cheat, they do everything they can, [especially] against the black artists," he said at a public appearance.

Ariana Grande - "I would just love to see a chart with as many women on top as men," Grande told Billboard. "It's so easy for them. There are so many unbelievable female artists out there that try so much harder."

Anna Kendrick - Not just an actor, Kendrick scored a top 10 hit in America with 'Cups.' "I have this sense that the music industry is just shady as hell. I don't want to be a part of it," she told Indiewire.

Dolores O'Riordan - The late singer told the National Post about her industry frustrations. "We took time off [in 1997] when Oasis broke and Princess Diana died and I was home with my baby hating the music industry."

Alanis Morissette - Alanis Morissette has won many awards throughout her career, but had enough at one point. "I believe very much that the music industry as a whole is mainly concerned with material success."

Billy Corgan - The Smashing Pumpkins frontman told Billboard: "this business has no plan for a future, and we are getting jobbed, to use a wrestling term, by the tech industry [...] that's building off of our content."

Rufus Wainwright - Talking with The Guardian, Wainwright said, "there's prejudice everywhere [in the music industry]," adding that "I have taken a few hits over the years for my sexuality, and for being honest about my life."

India Arie - "For the first 10 years of my career, I felt suffocated," the R&B singer told Oprah.com. "I hit rock bottom. I couldn't find myself because I was looking to be defined by the music industry or by being number one on the Billboard charts."

Kelela - Kelela has made it her mission statement to combat the faulty side of the music biz. "I'm pushing back against the white, misogynistic, heterosexual establishment in the music industry," she told Time.

Artists discuss the dark side of the music industry

Taylor Swift's open letter shines a light on some shady business

It's a dream shared by millions around the world: become a world-famous musician. Who hasn't turned on the TV, seen an iconic performance, and wished they were in that position? Well, you might soon be relieved that you're watching from the other side of the stage. The music industry is rife with shady business and unspoken hardships.

Take the scandal and controversy over Taylor Swift's music, for example. She recently came out with a scathing open letter detailing a long and failed struggle to own her master recordings, claiming that her former label Big Machine Records had offered her a deal to "earn" her first six albums back, and arguing that there was malice in the label's sale to her alleged longtime bully Scooter Braun.

Music executives and other artists like Justin Bieber and Halsey have come forward on either side, but no matter whose side they're on, the debate about an artist's right to own their musical catalogs has erupted. One thing is clear: the industry is hiding some shady business.

Swift isn't the only one who doesn't own her master recordings, a music executive speaking to The Blast revealed. Some of those artists reportedly include heavy hitters like Drake, Katy Perry, and Bruno Mars.

And that's just the tip of the iceberg. Click through this gallery to discover the dark side of the music industry.